Pep Guardiola bemoans costly mistake after Man City's 1-1 draw with Southampton
Sunday 23 October 2016 17:44, UK
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola bemoaned another defensive mistake after his side were held to a 1-1 draw against Southampton on Sunday.
Guardiola saw his side punished for a number of defensive errors in a 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in midweek, and they were punished again against Southampton after John Stones' poor back pass gifted Nathan Redmond a 27th-minute opener.
And Guardiola, whose side are now without a win in five games in all competitions, insists his side will continue to work hard to cut out the individual errors that are proving costly.
"The first half was not good but second half was much better," Guardiola told Sky Sports. "The first half was difficult and again we make a mistake.
"After it's tough, but I'm very happy with how we did in the second half."
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When asked about Stones' mistake, Guardiola said: "Once again it's not difficult but they are human beings and it happens.
"We spoke about it after the last game to try and avoid it and we'll repeat that again. It's difficult at this level and we have to be more clinical in this way."
Guardiola brought on Kelechi Iheanacho at the break for the injured Kevin De Bruyne and City looked more more threatening when the Nigeria international was on the pitch.
Iheanacho grabbed a deserved equaliser for the hosts but despite the improved second-half performance, City could not find a winner, and Guardiola was full of praise for his side's response after the break.
"They showed their own spirit and their own character," Guardiola added.
"They changed. We changed one player because Kevin was injured and Kelechi came on but it was them.
Next up for City is a clash with Manchester United in the fourth round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports, and they will be looking for a repeat of September's league victory against their rivals.
"It's always a big match against United," Guardiola said. "We have to see how the players recover and prepare for the game as best as possible and keep going."
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